A hallmark of the Donkey Kong franchise is barrels, which the Kongs use as weapons, vehicles, furniture, and lodging. The Donkey Kong character is highly recognizable and very popular; the franchise has sold over 40 million units worldwide.[1]

The original arcade Donkey Kong game was created when Shigeru Miyamoto was assigned by Nintendo to convert Radar Scope, a game that had been released to test audiences with poor results, into a game that would appeal more to Americans. The result was a major breakthrough for Nintendo and for the videogame industry. Sales of the machine were brisk, with the game becoming one of the best-selling arcade machines of the early 1980s. The gameplay itself was a large improvement over other games of its time, and with the growing base of arcades to sell to, it was able to gain huge distribution. In the game, 'Jumpman' (the character would later become Mario) must ascend a construction site while avoiding obstacles such as barrels and fireballs to rescue Pauline, his girlfriend, from Donkey Kong. Miyamoto created a greatly simplified version for the Game & Watch multiscreen. Other ports include the Atari 2600, Colecovision, Amiga 500, Apple II, Atari 7800, Intellivision, Commodore 64, Commodore VIC-20, Famicom Disk System, IBM PC booter, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Atari 8-bit family and Mini-Arcade versions. The game was ported to the Family Computer in 1983 as one of the system's three launch titles; the same version was a launch title for the Famicom's North American version, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Both Donkey Kong and its sequel, Donkey Kong Jr., are included in the 1988 NES compilation Donkey Kong Classics. The NES version was re-released as an unlockable game in Animal Crossing for the GameCube and as an item for purchase on the Wii's Virtual Console. The original arcade version of the game appears in the Nintendo 64 game Donkey Kong 64. Nintendo released the NES version on the e-Reader and for the Game Boy AdvanceClassic NES series in 2002 and 2004, respectively.[3] The game was once more ported to Nintendo consoles Wii, WiiU and 3DS in 2013 and 2014, under the name Donkey Kong Original Edition.

Donkey Kong Jr.

The success of the original game spawned several ports, and a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. In this game, Donkey Kong Junior is trying to rescue his father Donkey Kong, who has been imprisoned. Donkey Kong's cage is guarded by Mario, in his only appearance as a villain in a video game. The game was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released in August 1982.[4] In the arcade version, Donkey Kong Jr. has to touch a key, then it moves up to the top screen. Donkey Kong Jr. has to climb to the top screen while avoiding things such as electrical wires. When he gets to the top screen, Donkey Kong Jr. will have to touch the key again, and it will move to the keyhole of one of the chains. Donkey Kong Jr. has to climb up the rope below the keyhole, while avoiding birds. When he gets to the top of the rope, one of the chains will unlock. He has to do this 4 times until he saves Donkey Kong. After that, the game will start over, at a somewhat faster pace.

Donkey Kong II

Donkey Kong 3

Donkey Kong 3 did not feature Mario. Its protagonist, Stanley, is a bugman. Donkey Kong has taken refuge in his greenhouse and it is now up to him to stop the ape from stirring up any more insects that will soon destroy his flowers. Stanley saves the flowers by spraying bug spray on Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong (Game Boy)

In 1994, Donkey Kong, a homonymousremake of the original game was released for the Game Boy, adding 96 new levels. This game was also the first game released with Super Game Boy enhancements, to help sell the new SNES peripheral. Later, Nintendo would revamp this style of gameplay into the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games.

Released in 1994, Donkey Kong Country (in Japan, Super Donkey Kong) was a DK series established by the British company Rare and Tim Stamper which took the premise in an entirely new direction and became a showcase title to show off then-revolutionary CGI graphics. In Donkey Kong Country, the original Donkey Kong's grandson, also called Donkey Kong, was the hero and he and his sidekick Diddy Kong had to save his hoard of bananas from the thieving King K. Rool and his Kremling Krew. The game was an action sidescrolling title similar to the Super Mario games and was enormously popular for its graphics, music and gameplay. The sequel, Diddy's Kong Quest (Super Donkey Kong 2 in Japan) involves DK being kidnapped by K. Rool, who was now a "Kaptain", and getting rescued by Diddy Kong and his girlfriend Dixie Kong, in a less cheery and a more darkly-themed game. In Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (in Japan, Super Donkey Kong 3) Donkey and Diddy both get kidnapped by K. Rool, now Baron K. Roolenstein, and Dixie and her cousin Kiddy Kong have to save them in the final game of the series for the SNES. All three of the Donkey Kong Country games for the SNES have been made available on the Virtual Console. In addition, Donkey Kong Country was ported to the Game Boy Color, and the entire Donkey Kong Country trilogy has been ported to the Game Boy Advance. Tim Stamper stated that an SNES emulator was used to rip the graphics and port it to GBA, and that the GBA versions were coded from scratch.[5]

A successful Nintendo 64 sequel to Rare's Donkey Kong Country games was also developed. In Donkey Kong 64, DK once again has the starring role as he joins forces with the DK crew. The game allows play as DK, Diddy Kong, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong and Chunky Kong to save Donkey Kong Island from destruction at the hands of K. Rool and his Kremling Krew in a fully 3D adventure. It also features multiplayer arena-battle modes. This game features a unique yellow cartridge and is only playable with the included Expansion Pak.

Diddy Kong Racing was a 1997 racing game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware. It is the first game to spin off from the Donkey Kong Country series. It currently stands as the Nintendo 64's sixth-most best selling game. A racing game like Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing also has a distinctive adventure mode. Some of the playable characters would later appear in their own franchise titles. Donkey Kong can also be found in Diddy Kong Racing DS, an enhanced remake for the Nintendo DS released on February 7, 2007.

The first game in the Donkey Konga series, Donkey Konga, was released for the GameCube in 2004. Created by Namco, this musical rhythm action game relied upon use of the DK Bongos accessory (purchasable separately or included, depending on the package) to hit a beat in time with the tune. The tunes included pop songs and themes from some previous Nintendo games. Its sequel, Donkey Konga 2, was released in 2005, and Japan later got Donkey Konga 3 that same year.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was released in Japan in December 2004 and elsewhere in 2005, this platform game used the aforementioned DK Bongos as a controller; tapping one drum repeatedly made Donkey Kong run, tapping both at the same time made him jump, tapping both alternately made him attack, and clapping or blowing in to the microphone caused an explosion, shown by a ripple in the screen, attracting assorted jewels or clearing obstacles to progress. As of Nintendo's conference at October 2, 2008, a New Play Control! remake of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was ported to the Wii; it was released in Japan on December 11, 2008.

Nintendo's first Donkey Kong title for the Game Boy Advance after Rare left was Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a return to the earlier arcade-style games that incorporated many elements from the Game Boy version. While its style was that of other games, the Rare design for Donkey Kong carried over. Donkey Kong, originally a villain, returns to this role in the game: wanting a Mini Mario clockwork toy, he finds that they are sold out at a local toy store. Enraged, he terrifies the Toads at the factory and steals the toys. This sets up the game's plot, where Mario chases Donkey Kong until he can take the Mini Marios back from Donkey Kong. The game was followed by March of the Minis for the Nintendo DS, Minis March Again on DSiWare, Mini-Land Mayhem in 2010 for the DS, Minis on the Move for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013 and Tipping Stars for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in 2014.

Donkey Kong Circus was A Game & Watch Panorama series game released in 1984.[4] In this game, the player controls Donkey Kong, who is placed on a barrel while juggling pineapples and avoiding flames. This game is very similar to Mario the Juggler, the last Game & Watch game, as they both involve a character juggling while avoiding objects.

Donkey Kong Jr. Math

Donkey Kong Jr. Math was an edutainment game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), wherein players must solve math problems in order to win. It is the only game in the "Education Series" of NES games in North America. The game features one and two player modes, both of which are single screen. In the first mode, the objective is to enter math answers in order to receive points. These questions include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In the two player mode, two players control two characters as they race to create a math formula to reach the number shown by Donkey Kong, incorporating platform gameplay. Donkey Kong Jr. Math was made available in the video game Animal Crossing, along with several other NES titles. It has also been released on the WiiVirtual Console in Europe, Australia, Japan, and North America.

Donkey Kong Hockey

It was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released in 1985 as part of the Game & Watch Micro Vs. series. The game features one LCD screen and two attached control pads. The hockey features Donkey Kong as one of the players and Mario as the other.

A Nintendo Entertainment System game announced in the Official Nintendo Player's Guide in 1987. Not much is known about the title; whether it was cancelled or a working title for a game released under a different name is unknown.

Donkey Kong Racing

A demo for a racing game on the GameCube, Nintendo's sixth generation console, was shown at SpaceWorld 2001. It showed various characters, including Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Taj the Genie racing on Ellie, Expresso, Rambi, Enguarde, and Zinger, Necky, Army, and Chomps Jr. that had been introduced in previous Donkey Kong games by Rare. Following the sale of Rare to Microsoft in 2002, Rare announced that they were concentrating their efforts on Xbox games. Although they had continued to support Nintendo's portable consoles, the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, the game was cancelled. Rare later reworked the game into Sabreman Stampede, which incorporated a lot of the same ideas without the racing aspect, but was also later cancelled.

Donkey Kong (GameCube)

Donkey Kong (for the Nintendo GameCube) is the canceled sequel to Donkey Kong 64 and the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. It was going to continue the style of Donkey Kong 64 with enhanced graphics. The music was to be composed by Grant Kirkhope, Dave Wise and Robin Beanland. Not much else is known about this game, as it didn't get far into development before Microsoft bought out Rare in 2002.

Diddy Kong Pilot

Diddy Kong Pilot is a planned sequel to Diddy Kong Racing, but with flying as the only means of transport. However, Nintendo found the game substandard (one point of criticism provided was "There's no point in flying up and down on flat levels")[citation needed] and did not want to publish it. After Rare was sold to Microsoft, which caused the company to lose the rights to Donkey Kong characters, Diddy Kong Pilot was converted into the game Banjo-Pilot in 2005. However, on November 5, 2011, a collector who had purchased a prototype cartridge leaked its ROM onto the internet.

Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers

Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers was originally as a puzzle game for the Game Boy Advance that was developed by Rare. However, the game was cancelled because in 2002, Rare was sold to Microsoft, which caused Rare to lose the rights to Donkey Kong characters, before development of the game was complete. The game was eventually reworked into It's Mr. Pants, and was released on December 7, 2004.

Diddy Kong Racing Adventure

A rejected pitch made by the Climax Group for a Diddy Kong Racing sequel on the Nintendo GameCube around 2004. The project was never announced to the public in any capacity and only became known after an amateur video game archivist acquired the prototype and published a video about it in November 2016.

After appearing in the original Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr., Mario would star in Mario franchise, beginning with the arcade game Mario Bros. and resulting in the Super Mario series—becoming Nintendo's mascot in the process. The Super Mario series would have its own spin-offs, including Mario Kart and Mario Party. Donkey Kong appears as a playable character in the vast majority of these spin-offs. The roots of the Mario franchise in Donkey Kong are further acknowledged in Super Mario Odyssey, with many elements of the DK franchise featured. DK and Diddy have their own Amiibo figures as part of the Super Mario line.

After Banjo's appearance in Diddy Kong Racing, he went on to star in Banjo-Kazooie, leading to the Banjo-Kazooie series. Following their acquisition of Rare in 2002, Microsoft is the current owner of this franchise.

Donkey Kong has appeared as a playable character in every game of the Super Smash Bros. series first appearing as one of eight characters in the original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. He was the first heavy fighter in the series, and featured many slow but powerful attacks. Diddy Kong was later introduced as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an agile fighter. There have been many stages based on games in the Donkey Kong series, including Congo Jungle in Super Smash Bros., Kongo Jungle and Jungle Japes in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Rumble Falls and 75m in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Jungle Hijinx in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Other characters, like King K. Rool and Dixie Kong, have appeared throughout the series as collectible trophies.

The Saturday Supercade was the character's first role in a television series. In it, Donkey Kong (voiced by Soupy Sales) has escaped from the circus and Mario (voiced by Peter Cullen) and Pauline (voiced by Judy Strangis) are chasing the ape. As with the original game, Donkey Kong will often grab Pauline, and Mario has to save her.

Donkey Kong also had its own television series called Donkey Kong Country, which is based on the SNES game of the same name. Aired in France in 1997 and in the USA in 1998, the series lasted two seasons with 40 total episodes featuring exclusive characters including Bluster Kong, Eddie the Mean Old Yeti and Kaptain Scurvy.

During the seventh generation of video games, there were two arcade Donkey Kong titles released in Japan. The first was Donkey Kong Jungle Fever, a medal game released in 2005, and the second was a sequel,[7]Donkey Kong Banana Kingdom (released on November 16, 2006). Both games were developed by Capcom and published by Nintendo on the Triforce arcade system board. Neither title has been released outside Japan.

After the first Donkey Kong was released, Universal Studios sued Nintendo, alleging that the video game was a trademark infringement of King Kong, the plot and characters of which Universal claimed for their own. In the case, Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd., a United States District Court ruled that Universal had acted in bad faith, and that it had no right over the name King Kong or the characters and story. The court further held that there was no possibility for consumers to confuse Nintendo's game and characters with the King Kong films and their characters. The case was an enormous victory for Nintendo, which was still a newcomer to the U.S. market. The case established the company as a major player in the industry and arguably gave the company the confidence that it could compete with the giants of American media.[8]

The success of the Donkey Kong series has resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series with 7 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. The records include: "First Use of Visual Storytelling in a Video Game" for the rudimentary cut scenes featured in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, and "Most Collectible Items in a Platform Game" for Donkey Kong 64.